Iron Texts and Headings

Iron is a chemical element. Its symbol is Fe and its atomic number is 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is by mass the most common element on our planet, forming much of the Earth’s outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust. Pure iron is rare on the Earth’s crust, basically being limited to meteorites. However, there are a lot of iron ores, but you need temperatures of 1500 °C or higher to get them.

Iron has been known to the mankind since ancient times. The first iron used by humans is likely to have come from meteorites. Most objects that fall to earth from space are stony, but a small proportion are ‘iron meteorites’ with iron contents of over 90%. Iron corrodes easily, so iron artifacts from ancient times are much rarer than objects made of silver or gold. Artifacts made from meteorite iron have been found dating back to about 5000 BC and so are about 7000 years old.

It might be interesting to know that Earth has enough iron to make three new planets, each with the same mass as Mars. Iron is ferromagnetic. Ferromagnetism is the strongest type of magnetism. Moreover, iron was the first magnetic metal discovered. It is even more interesting that some animals have a sixth sense $–$ the magnetic sense. Among them are honey bees, homing pigeons and dolphins. The Earth’s magnetic field helps them to navigate and return home successfully.

Iron is the cheapest and most important of all metals, important in the sense that iron is overwhelmingly the most commonly used metal, accounting for
95% of worldwide metal production. Iron is used to manufacture steel and other alloys important in construction and manufacturing. Iron is also vital in the functioning of living organisms, transporting oxygen in blood via the hemoglobin molecule. Iron is essential for human brain development.

In ancient times, people did not know how very abundant iron was on Earth. Their only source of metallic iron was meteorites. From Assyrian writings we have learnt that iron was eight times more valuable than gold. In addition to its rarity, iron may also have been very desirable because of it coming from the sky. It was thought to be a gift from the gods: the ancient Egyptians called it ‘the metal of heaven’. The connection with heaven is proved by the Pyramid Texts.

Iron Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and then films. The character made his first appearance in March 1963. In the story, a wealthy American business magnate and a talented scientist Tony Stark suffers a chest injury. He creates a powered suit of iron armour to save his life. Later, Stark develops this suit, adding weapons and other technological devices. Both kids and adults love the story of Iron Man.

There are many expressions with the word ‘iron’ in the English language. The British sometimes use the expression ‘the iron horse’ to speak about a train or a locomotive. When a native English speaker says that they ‘have many irons in the fire’, it means that they have several things to do. The proverb ‘Strike while the iron is hot’ means that you should take advantage of the time and the situation as quickly as possible. It is quite interesting to learn such phrases.